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Bahk Eun-ji

Korea Times Politics & City Reporter

Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.

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Health

Gathering ban causes conflict among family members

A banner outside Seoul Metropolitan Library in central Seoul urges people not to visit their families during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday to keep social distancing, in this Jan. 31 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe government's ban on gatherings of five or more people, aimed at preventing the spread of COVID-19, has become a fresh topic for disputes among family members ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. While many Koreans travel across the country to meet family and relatives during one of the two biggest traditional holidays, some couples and families have had quarrels over whether to push ahead with the visits this time by breaking social distancing rules, as the number of people easily surpasses four when two or three generations gather.A 31-year-old office worker, surnamed Kim, is struggling to deal with his father's plan to push ahead with a family gathering at his house in Daejeon.“My father just doesn't get the idea of applying the gathering ban even for a family visit during the holiday. He keeps saying it doesn't make sense that we have to pay a fine if we viol

Feb 3, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Gathering ban causes conflict among family members
Society

Watchdog supports transgender soldier over involuntary discharge from military

Byun Hee-soo, center, a former staff sergeant who was forcibly discharged after a sex change operation, holds a press conference in Seoul, in this Aug. 11, 2020 photo. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiThe nation's human rights watchdog said Tuesday that it has recommended that the Army cancel its decision to discharge a staff sergeant who underwent a sex change operation, saying the forcible discharge infringed on the person's human rights.The Army, however, said the forcible discharge was a “legitimate administrative measure.”According to the Center for Military Human Rights Korea, a civic group, the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) recommended that the Army reverse its decision to discharge former sergeant Byun Hee-soo, and that the Ministry of National Defense revise related regulations in order to prevent a recurrence of such cases. The recommendation came after the commission concluded, in a December meeting, that the Army's decision not to allow Byun to continue serving in the military as a female soldier had no legal grounds. Byun, who underwent surgery to chan

Feb 2, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Watchdog supports transgender soldier over involuntary discharge from military
Society

Yonsei University to host global forum on sustainable development, global partnerships

A poster for the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development organized by Yonsei University / Courtesy of Yonsei UniversityBy Bahk Eun-jiYonsei University will hold a global forum virtually this week to discuss the impacts and challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has presented with regards to international cooperation, as well as how to raise awareness of sustainable development. Under the theme, “3Ps Beyond Security: Peace, Prosperity and Partnership,” the Global Engagement and Empowerment Forum on Sustainable Development (GEEF) will take place on Thursday and Friday, according to the university. The conference is aimed at discussing partnerships and the path forward to accelerate the achievement of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with reviews of the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The event will begin with a congratulatory address by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, and speeches from former World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and Deputy Secretary-General of the U.N. Amina J. Mohammed. During a special session, Ban Ki

Feb 2, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Yonsei University to host global forum on sustainable development, global partnerships
Politics

Lawmakers seek to impeach senior judge

Lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea and other liberal minor parties announce a plan during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday, to proceed with a motion to impeach senior Judge Lim Seong-geun, who has been accused of abusing his power. Lim is currently on trial for allegedly meddling in a number of politically controversial cases between 2015 and 2016 when he was a judge at the Seoul High. The lawmakers argue that he violated the Constitution. Yonhap

Feb 1, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Lawmakers seek to impeach senior judge
Health

Drill for vaccine transportation

A military police vehicle follows a truck carrying COVID-19 vaccine substitutes at the National Medical Center in Seoul, Monday, during a drill to train for the transportation, storage and administration of coronavirus vaccines before vaccinations start here later this month. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Feb 1, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Drill for vaccine transportation
Society

Rights commission calls for better textbook screening to prevent discrimination

Members of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea hold a meeting at the commission building in Seoul, Jan. 25. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiThe education authorities are urged to strengthen screening standards for school textbooks to ensure they don't contain content that could intensify prejudices and discrimination against sexual minorities, a state human rights watchdog said, Monday.The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) said one high school textbook described sexual minorities as those who have “unique sexual tastes” and defined homosexuality as “sexual contact between people of the same gender,” which the watchdog said could increase negative perceptions of sexual minorities.The commission's statement came in response to a petition filed last year by a citizen who found the textbook's content to be problematic. The textbook passed the education ministry's screening in August 2013. In the book, a passage defined a sexual minority as “a person who is distinguished from the majority of society, and also has unique sexual tastes,&

Feb 1, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Rights commission calls for better textbook screening to prevent discrimination
Law & Crime

Parents call for heavy punishment of kindergarten teacher who put insect repellent in children's meals

By Bahk Eun-jiAn online petition has been filed on the Cheong Wa Dae website, calling for harsh punishment of a kindergarten teacher who allegedly put harmful substances in children's meals.The petitioner, who identified himself as the parent of a child at the kindergarten in Seoul, said the teacher put unidentified liquid and powder in children's meals, water and snacks, and the substances turned out to be mosquito repellent and detergent.“A total of 17 children were confirmed to have ingested the substances so far, and they are only between five and seven years old,” he wrote.gettyimagesbankAccording to surveillance footage, the teacher carried a medicine bottle in her apron and sprayed the liquid on the food and drinks, police said.The police asked the National Forensic Service to analyze the components in the bottles, and the liquid turned out to contain mosquito repellent and detergent, requiring immediate medical treatment for the children. The petitioner wrote that the footage showed “the teacher looked so calm when she put the liquid and powder in the meals

Jan 30, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Parents call for heavy punishment of kindergarten teacher who put insect repellent in children's meals
Society

Court ruling rekindles debate on morality of sex dolls

Legislators debate the importation of life-size sex dolls during an annual parliamentary audit of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy at the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 18, 2019 photo. Korea Times fileBy Bahk Eun-jiA recent court ruling in favor of importing life-size sex dolls has reignited heated debate here over its possible effects on society.While importers and supporters say sex dolls should be treated the same as other sex toys on shelves, opponents say the dolls objectify women.Earlier this month, the Seoul Administrative Court overturned a January 2020 decision by the customs office at Gimpo International Airport to ban the importation of life-size real doll products. The office said the dolls would harm public morals, but the court said the toys are for personal use and do not corrupt morals.Controversy over sex dolls erupted in June 2019 when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of another doll importer that sued the government customs agency for blocking their imports. The top court stated that the government should not interfere with people's private lives, and

Jan 29, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Court ruling rekindles debate on morality of sex dolls
Society

Foreign residents in Gyeonggi Province to receive disaster relief fund

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung speaks during a press conference at the provincial government office in Suwon, Thursday. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiGyeonggi Provincial Government said Thursday that it will provide 100,000 won ($89.60) in disaster relief funds to all residents, including foreigners, next month as a measure to help them cope with the financial hardship caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.The move came after the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) advised the provincial government to revise its related policy to include all foreign residents with registered addresses in the area in the cash handout program twice, in May and November last year. The first payout of relief funds by Gyeonggi Province and Seoul City in March last year excluded foreign residents. While Seoul accepted the commission's recommendation and began to provide the relief subsidy to all registered foreigners, Gyeonggi refused, citing budget constraints and complicated procedures involving revisions to related ordinances.At that time, the NHRCK pointed out that foreign residents have the sa

Jan 28, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Foreign residents in Gyeonggi Province to receive disaster relief fund
  • All Gyeonggi residents to receive pandemic relief
Law & Crime

Man jailed for 20 years on wrongful murder conviction seeks $2.2 mil. in state compensation

Yoon Seong-yeo leaves the Suwon District Court in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, in this Dec. 17, 2020 photo, after he was acquitted of a 1988 murder charge, of which he was falsely accused, and for which he served nearly 20 years behind bars. YonhapBy Bahk Eun-jiYoon Seong-yeo, 54, who was acquitted recently in a retrial after serving 20 years behind bars after having been wrongfully accused of murdering a 13-year-old girl, filed a suit seeking 2.5 billion won ($2.25 million) in compensation for financial losses suffered due to imprisonment, according to the Suwon District Court, Thursday.Korea's criminal law requires the government to compensate financial damages suffered by people who have been unjustly detained or who have spent money on trials over false accusations. Victims of such injustice can claim up to five times the amount of income they would have made per day if the person had not been in jail.In Lee's case, he and his lawyer calculated the amount of compensation by multiplying the number of days he had been jailed, 7,326, by five times the daily minimum wage last year,

Jan 28, 2021By Bahk Eun-ji
Man jailed for 20 years on wrongful murder conviction seeks $2.2 mil. in state compensation
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